Means for recording optical images



Oct. 24, 1944. w, DDY 2,361,183

MEANS FOR RECORDING OPTICAL IMAGES Filed Dec. 31, 1940 Fig.3 if??? DICIDDDDiQDCJDDH'JUDDUIUOUUD' n noooolmnonaloooumpdouoh: I I l I INVENTOR. WILL/AM C. EDDY BY ATTORNEY.

' Patented Oct. 24, 1944 MEANS FOR RECORDING OPTICAL IMAGES William C. Eddy, Kenilworth, Ill.. asslgnor to Radio Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware Application December 31, 1940, Serial No. 372,513

1 Claim.

scope itself, the movement of the objects fur-" nishing the dynamic effect to the kaleidoscopic figures. Accordingly, it is one of the objects of my invention to provide recorded material for use with kaleidoscopes which will obviate the use of movable solid objects such as heretofore known.

Among the disadvantages of using moving or freely falling material is the fact that the shape of the image so formed is purely a matter of chance and not predictable. Accordingly, it is another of the objects of my invention to record material for use with a projection kaleidoscope which will form definite predeterminable kaleidoscopic patterns when projected.

There has been used experimentally and with good effect the combination of a soundv score and definite kaleidoscopic figures for producing simultaneous visible and audible pleasing effects. This may be done, for instance, by providing kaleidoscopic figures having very heavy boundary lines when deep bass portions of the audible effects are heard, andthin, fast, quickly changing lines or figures when the higher pitched and increasing tempo audible effects are heard. This, of necessity, demands complete control of the final image which will be produced by the projection kaleidoscope. Accordingly, it is another of the objects of my invention to provide apparatus for and methods of recording kaleldoscopic material which may beeasily adapted for display synchronously with audible effects.

In the art of television,dynamic effects play a very important part since ultimately the expense of television programs will probably be borne by advertisers, and it is highly desirable to provide entertainment material which is not prohibitive in cost. Accordingly, it is another of the objects of my invention to provide apparatus for and methods of recording program material for use with a projection kaleidoscope which will be relatively cheap to use.

Accordingly, among the objects of my invention are:

1. To provide recorded material for use with kaleidoscopes which will obviate the use of movable solid objects such as heretofore known.

2. To record material for use with a projection v kaleidoscope which will form definite predeterminable Kaleidoscopic-patterns when projected.

3. To provide apparatus for and methods of recording kaleidoscopic material which may be easily adapted for display synchronously with audible effects.

4. To provide apparatus for and methods of recording program material for use with a projection kaleidoscope which will be relatively cheap to use.

My invention in general utilizes a continuous film andmay use in conjunction therewith either a camera built especially for the purpose, or a slightly altered form of already known camera. This camera is arranged to focus on a definite plane, and on this plane is mounted either the complete pattern or cut out figures Which represent a portion of the kaleidoscopic pattern finally to be formed. A definite section of the plane is covered by the camera, and exposure of the film will record the particular material within this section. After the exposure of one section of the film covering a particular section of the plane upon which the camera is focused, the plane is moved in general the exact distance to carry the section thereof which has just been recorded to a position which is contiguous with the section which has been moved into the range of the camera. The film in the camera is moved so that the exposed portion thereof will be contiguous with an unexposed and adjacent section so that .continuous, rather than frame by frame, ex-

posure is obtained of the subject matter Which is mounted on the plane of focus of the camera. My invention will best be understood by reference to the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one arrangement according to my invention. 7

Fig. 2 is a schematic showing of the arrangement -of Fig. 1. s

Fig. 3 indicates a portion of an exposed film on which has been indicated each separately recorded section.

Referring to Fig. 1, there is shown a perspective view of an arrangement according to my invention. In this figure a mounting member I 0 is provided on which either the complete layout to be photographed may be mounted or placed, or individual sectional cut strips may be mounted, these strips to represent the final figure to be recorded on the film which is to be utilized in conjunction with a projection kaleidoscopic device such, for instance, as illustrated in my hereinbefore referred to application. There has been utilized with the member 10 a black background material II on which is placed the strip. members indicative of the figures to.be recorded as indicated at l3. These strips have, in general, been white pieces of material, but it will be appreciated that many departures may be made from the specific showing without departing from the spirit thereof. The support or mounting member ill, in general, has been supported by roller members and guide members so as to make the movement thereof conform to a definite path. In order to move the member l there is used in this figure, for illustrative purposes only, a rack member l4 and a gear member associated therewith. Positioned adjacent the mounting or support member ID is a supporting rod l6 having' .uresmay be made from this specific showing.

A camera is mounted so as to have the objective lens thereof, here illustrated as 2|, facing downwardly toward the material i3 on the mounting member H). In the arrangement illustrated there is fastened to the side of the camera a member 22 which has, in general, been formed by upsetting a piece of stock material so that the side of the camera and the stock material together form a keyway into which the lower part of the L shaped member l8 may be inserted to hold the camera firmly in position. The mounting member ID is marked off so as to indicate the limits of the objective areas which are photographed, and in order to properly position the member it) with respect to the camera there is provided an indicating arm 23 fastened to the support member IS, the latter being adapted to indicate how far the member ID is to be moved so as to bring a new objective area into photographic relationship with respect to the camera after an exposure of an area has been accomplished. For purposes of clearness the approximate objective area of the camera has been indicated by the dashed lines 24, and the sections of the mounting member which are to be brought into contiguous relationship by photographic exposure have been indicated by ,the broken lines at a, b, c, d and e. Also there is indicated on the mounting member the ruled lines such, for instance, as 25 which may be used in conjunction with the member 23 for lining up the position of the mounting member. In this view the illuminating means for flooding a section of the member ID has been omitted, but is illustrated hereinafter in Fig. 2.

The operation of the arrangement of this figure is as follows:

The section of the final image to be recorded, herein illustrated between the lines b and c, is focussed onto the film of the camera 20 by properly positioning the camera so that its focal plane is the plane of the member l0. This particular portion may be photographed and then the line 0 may be moved until it is in line with the pointer on the member 23. Thus, with respect to the already exposed area between I) and c, this will bring into the focal range of the camera a contiguous area between lines o and d. The film in the camera having been exposed and having recorded the area between lines I) and c', the film is moved until an unexposed portion is brought into an exposing relationship with respect to the objective lens 2|, and at a position which is contiguous to the already exposed portion which has immediately before recorded the lends itself to an ease of operation since its avoids the use of a prohibitively long mounting member l0, due to the fact that after the areas indicated have been exposed a new portion of the design may supplant that already exposed, and thus an unlimited continuous film of various and controllable designs may be recorded.

Referring to Fig. 2, there is shown a schematic diagram of the arrangement according to Fig. 1. In this view the camera 20 has a roll of film partially wound upon suitable spools as shown at 30 and 3|, and this film may be exposed frame by frame through the objective lens II, and it may be moved by the winding members and ll illustrated in Fig. 1. In the usually available commercial form of camera normal movement of the film so as to bring it into recording position frame by frame would leave a space between the frame members, as is well known in the photographic ar Accordingly, the exposure aperture in the member 32 is enlarged so that normal movement of the film brings each frame of the film into a position which is contiguous with the previously exposed frame. This has the distinct advantage of permitting the use of a camera arrangement of more or less standard make, as

well as a recording film with standard markings.

It will be appreciated, of course, that a special camera might be provided adaptable for use with standard film, and which would have an exposure aperture of such a size that normal movement of the film relatively thereto would bring each frame into a position contiguous with the previously exposed frame. In this view the matter to be recorded is shown schematically as lighted by the source of illumination 33 and the reflector 34 used in conjunction therewith.

Referring to Fig. 3, there is shown divided of! into sections the image view formed on such an exposed film, and it will be seen that portions of the image l3 come'into-a contiguous relationship as they are exposed and hence form what effectively is a continuous design.

It will be appreciated that there may be departures from the particular showings contained therein without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. An example of this, for instance, is shown in the fact that earlier in this specification the simultaneous production of visible and audible pleasing effects gave one particular example for the combination as providing kaleidoscopic figures having very heavy boundary lines when deep bass portions of the audible effects are heard, and thin, fast, quickly changing lines when the higher pitched audible effects are heard. Also, it should be borne in mind that the speed of formation of the image, as well as the depth of the lines thereof, plays a part in forming a pleasing combination.

Again, the example has been given earlier in this specification of forming the figures by photographing white figures on a black background. This is purely a matter of choice, as black on white could just as readily be used and, on the other hand, there may be an admixture of half tone effects since deep contrasts are not necessary. For instance, a salt on a black velvet surface will result in 9. Ben Day effect, and it will be appreciated that by reason of the flexibility in an electronic television system, even though the material is registered on the film in the negative, it can betransmitted over a television system as a positive. I

similarly, another example lies in the fact that there has been referred to hereinbefore a sliding board or support for supporting the material to be photographed. This board is identified as item It in Fig. 1. It will be appreciated that an endless belt or roller type of path would be the full equivalent of a sliding board and possibly, for some purposes, would be preferable thereto.

being so constructed that each film transporting operation moves the film an amount exactly equal to the dimension of the exposed area of the film in the direction of film movement, film advance means for moving the sensitized medium between successive photographically recorded intervals by an amount exactly equalto the dimension of the recorded area in the direction of movement, said physical pattern support means being provided with spaced marking indicia, the spacing of the markings being equal to the extent of one dimension of the area of the physical pattern that is photographically recorded at each film exposure, a stationary index pointer arranged to cooperate with the marking indicia and means for moving the physical pattern and the support means by an amount exactly equal to the said one dimension of the photographically recorded area in the direction of movement as determined by the cooperation of the stationary pointer with the marking indicia on the pattern support means so that when the new area of the pattern isrecorded the photographically recorded areas will be contiguous and the image pattern continuous.

WILLIAM C. EDDY. 

